1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescence (hereunder EL for short) display and a manufacturing method thereof, and to a multi-holed substrate ideally used therein. In particular the invention is one where, in a display incorporating microstructures made with drive circuits for organic EL elements, and a manufacturing method thereof, the organic EL display can be manufactured extremely efficiently.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, there is a method of manufacturing an electronic device using microstructures made with electronic circuit elements (refer for example to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,904,545, 5,824,186, 5,783,856, and 5,545,291).
That is, there is a manufacturing method which uses microstructures, and which enjoys for example the advantage that even with a configuration where a plurality of electronic circuits are scattered over a substrate of an electronic device, the semiconductor material need not be wasted.
Therefore, the present inventors and others, as a result of earnest research, have completed a manufacturing method for obtaining an organic EL display involving firstly, making a drive circuit for an organic EL element within a microstructure and arranging this on a transparent substrate, and then performing in sequence; a wiring forming step, a transparent electrode forming step, a luminous layer forming step and a negative electrode forming step. However while undoubtedly it has been shown that the organic EL display can be manufactured while enjoying the advantages from such a microstructure, in practice in order to mass produce the organic EL display with a profit base, further improvement is desired.
The present invention has resulted due to such requirements, with the object of providing a construction and manufacturing method for an organic EL display whereby an organic EL display can be manufactured extremely efficiently.
In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a display which uses an organic EL element as pixels, wherein a nonconductive multi-holed substrate having; a plurality of concavities in which are inlaid a plurality of microstructures made with drive circuits for the organic EL element, and through holes which pass through between front and rear faces at formation positions of the pixels is used, and a luminous layer containing an organic EL layer is formed inside the through holes of the multi-holed substrate.
A second aspect of the present invention is that in the organic EL display being the first aspect, chamfering is given to a surface side edge portion of the through holes of the multi-holed substrate.
In order to achieve the above object, a third aspect of the present invention is a manufacturing method for a display which uses an organic EL element as pixels, involving using a nonconductive multi-holed substrate having; a plurality of concavities in which are inlaid a plurality of microstructures made with drive circuits for the organic EL element, and through holes which pass through between front and rear faces at formation positions of the pixels, and forming a luminous layer containing an organic EL layer inside the through holes of the multi-holed substrate.
In order to achieve the above object, a fourth aspect of the present invention is a manufacturing method for a display which uses an organic EL element as pixels, involving using a nonconductive multi-holed substrate having; a plurality of concavities in which are inlaid a plurality of microstructures made with drive circuits for the organic EL element, and through holes which pass through between front and rear faces at formation positions of the pixels, and providing: a microstructructure inlaying step for inlaying the microstructures in the concavities of the multi-holed substrate and then covering with a nonconductive protective film; a transparent electrode layer and transparent substrate forming step for providing in sequence a transparent electrode layer and a nonconductive transparent substrate on a rear face side of the multi-holed substrate; a luminous layer forming step for forming a luminous layer containing an organic EL layer inside the through holes of the multi-holed substrate provided with the transparent electrode layer; and a negative electrode and wiring forming step for forming a negative electrode and wiring on a surface of the multi-holed substrate formed with the luminous layer.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is that in the manufacturing method for an organic EL display according to the third or fourth aspects, chamfering is given to a surface side edge of the through holes of the multi-holed substrate.
Furthermore, a sixth aspect of the present invention is that in the manufacturing method for an EL display of the fourth or fifth aspects, in the transparent electrode layer and transparent substrate forming step, the transparent electrode layer is provided beforehand on the surface of the transparent substrate, and the transparent substrate is attached to a rear face side of the multi-holed substrate with the transparent electrode layer on an inside.
Furthermore, a seventh aspect of the present invention is that in the manufacturing method for an organic EL display according to any one of the fourth through sixth aspects, in the luminous layer forming step, the luminous layer is formed using an ink jet method.
Moreover, an eighth aspect of the present invention is that in the manufacturing method for an organic EL display according to any one of the fourth through seventh aspects, in the negative electrode and wiring forming step, the negative electrode and the wiring are formed separately.
On the other hand, a ninth aspect of the present invention is that in the manufacturing method for an organic EL display according to any one of the fourth through seventh aspects, in the negative electrode and wiring forming step, a surface of the multi-holed substrate on which the luminous layer is formed is covered with a metallic layer, and the metallic layer is patterned to form the negative electrode and the wiring at the same time.
A tenth aspect of the present invention is that in the manufacturing method for an organic EL display according to the ninth aspect, after the transparent electrode layer and transparent substrate forming step, and before the luminous layer forming step, there is provided a contact hole forming step for forming on the protective film contact holes which pass to electrode pads provided on the surface of the microstructures.
An eleventh aspect of the present invention is that in the manufacturing method for an organic EL display according to any one of the fourth through tenth aspects, in the microstructure inlaying step, the microstructure is inlaid in the concavity while in a liquid.
On the other hand, a twelfth aspect of the present invention is a multi-holed substrate used in a display which uses an organic EL element as pixels, comprising a material with nonconductivity, and wherein a plurality of concavities in which are inlaid a plurality of microstructures made with drive circuits for the organic EL element is provided on a surface, and through holes which pass through between front and rear faces are provided at formation positions of the pixels.
A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is that in the multi-holed substrate being the twelfth aspect, chamfering is given to a surface side edge portion of the through holes of the multi-holed substrate.
A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is an electro-optic device which uses a luminous element as pixels, wherein a multi-holed substrate having; a plurality of concavities in which are inlaid a plurality of microstructures made with drive circuits for the luminous element, and through holes which pass through between front and rear faces at formation positions of the pixels is used, and a luminous layer is formed inside the through holes of the multi-holed substrate.
A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a manufacturing method for an electro-optic device which uses a luminous element as pixels, involving using a multi-holed substrate having; a plurality of concavities in which are inlaid a plurality of microstructures made with drive circuits for the luminous element, and through holes which pass through between front and rear faces at formation positions of the pixels, and forming a luminous layer inside the through holes of the multi-holed substrate.
A sixteenth aspect of the present invention is that the electro-optic device of the fourteenth aspect is provided.
According to the organic EL display and manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention, since a multi-holed substrate formed with through holes is used, the manufacturing process is simplified, with the effect that a reduction in manufacturing cost is possible.
Moreover, with the multi-holed substrate according to the present invention, an ideal multi-holed substrate is provided for the organic EL display and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention.